No Corners Cut, No Pacifying, No Round-About Way

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

 “Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand; Yes, it is approaching! A day of darkness and gloom, a day of thick clouds! Like dawn spreading over the mountains, a vast and mighty army.  Nothing like it has every happen in ages past, nor will the future hold anything like it, even to the most distant generations. Before it, fire devours, behind it flame torches. The land before it is like the Garden of Eden, and behind it, a desolate wilderness; from it nothing escapes. There is that of horses; like war horses they run. Like the rumble of chariots they hurtle across mountaintops; like the crackling of fiery flames devouring stubble; like a massive army in battle formation. Before them people tremble, every face turns pale. Like warriors they run, like soldiers they scale walls, each advancing in line, without swerving from the course. No one crowds the other; each advances in its own track; they plunge through the weapons; they are not checked. They charge the city, they run upon the wall; they climb into the houses; through the windows they enter like thieves. Before the earth trembles; the heaven shake; Sun and moon are darkened, and the stars withhold their brightness. The Lord raises his voice at the head of his army; How immense is his host; How numerous those who carry out his command! How great is the day of the Lord! Utterly terrifying! Who can survive it? Return to the Lord with your whole heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning… for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and relenting in punishment. [Book of Joel].

You have been commanded by the Lord to set your face to the ground in humility, brokenness, and repentance. If you will not humble yourself, confess and forsake your sins, He will come suddenly to execute judgment. Quick judgment and sorrow upon all who shut the ear and close the mind to the trumpet sounding in Zion! Thus saith the Lord God; “There shall none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done.” [Ezekiel 12:28]. This is a warning that is so serious; everyone should take serious thought about where they stand with God. There is a quickness of His coming that we are warned about. There is the urgent preparation needed prior to His coming that we are warned about.  What the Bible says about the Lord’s coming is very near. It is upon us closer than we think. According to [1 Peter 4:17] judgment has already begun. You have been warned to repent, in advance of God’s judgment to come through this article. It is now your move!

 “But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.” [Ezekiel 33:6]

  “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life that both thou and thy seed may live.” [Deuteronomy 30:19].

“Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done…. He who testifies to these things says, “Yes I am coming quickly” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus… [Revelation 22: 12, 20].

Scripture Reference: … [Obadiah 15] [Joel 2:1–11; 2:28–32; 3:1–16] [2 Thessalonians 2:2; 2 Peter 3:10] [Revelation 14] [Revelation 16:15] [Revelation 18]  [Revelation 22: 7, 10-12, 20].

By Lou Coleman

“Now the end has come upon you, and I will send My anger against you, says the Lord; I will judge you according to your ways, and I will repay you for all your evil. My eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity; But I will repay your ways, and your abominations will be in your midst; Then you shall know that I AM the LORD!” [Ezekiel 7:3-4].  Whatever wicked things you said and did would now be received back on you. “For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” [Galatians 6:7-10]. For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life.  Listen, I AM not a man that I should lie. You will reap what you have sown! I am not blind or deaf. I see everything. It is only because of My great mercy that you have not been destroyed already. But make no mistake about it; you will reap what you have sown!  [Judges 1:1-3:6].

When you look at the people of Israel, you see the consequences of disobedience. Most of the Israelites died in the desert. They did not take My words to heart. I want you to know that disobedience always leads to misfortune. The first King of Israel faced disastrous consequences because he failed to obey God. The hardening of his heart and his casual attitude to the sin of partial obedience caused him to be rejected as King. He lost his kingdom and eventually lost his life. Saul, who was among the prophets prophesying, anointed King of Israel and head and shoulders above his brothers turned away from God. Pride came into his heart and God rejected him. I want you to know that disobedience walks hand in hand with consequences. I also what you to know that disobedience has massive implication because oftentimes the person who breaks God’s laws is not the only one who ends up paying the price. Therefore, the choice that you make can affect people around you either directly or indirectly in a big way.

 “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. [Galatians 6:76]. A man reaps what he sows.” Despite everything that sin has to offer, the deceptive pleasures that you may experience are not worth the price that you have to pay eventually. But you seem to think that you can go on and on in unrepented sin without the chastisement of God, but that is not so. [[Deuteronomy 11:28] [Deuteronomy 28:15-68] [Jeremiah 35: 14-19] [Isaiah 42:24-25]. [1Samuel 12:15]. [Jeremiah 12:17] [Hebrews 2:1-4].

If you have disobeyed the Lord in some area of your life, repent and confess your sin now. God is so good, so merciful and so compassionate, the Scripture says: “It is not the will of Him that any should perish [2 Peter 3:8-1].   God will forgive you and blot your sins if only you would repent and confess your sins. Today is the day of salvation, you are not promised tomorrow.

“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.” [Deuteronomy 30:19]

By Lou Coleman

Now you may be wondering just who am I talking to? Well I’m talking to you if you are defying God by being disobedient to His laws and commands. You uncircumcised Philistine! Child of Satan! Going around boasting, “It’s my prerogative … I don’t need permission… Make my own decisions. I can do what I wanna do…” [Lyrics – Bobby Brown]. You fool! Your life is in God’s hands and hangs by a thread of sovereign grace. Don’t get it twisted! Your life; a vapor that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away.” [James 4:14]. It is a sad day and clear evidence of the apostasy. Defying God!  What a shame!  God gave His only begotten Son to die for us miserable wretches… “Yet, we spit in His face by rejecting Him. “The God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified.”[Daniel 5:23] You arrogant, vain, ungrateful and selfish Philistine. [Romans 1:21].

Why do you disobey God? Why do you openly defy God? Why do you show contempt in the face of His warnings? The short answer is sin and human weakness. Yet, you feel compelled to dig deeper. What are you thinking? Let me remind you that when God told Adam not to eat from the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and bad He also spelled out a penalty should they choose to disobey: death to the offender. You got that? Death to the offender! Think of what the creation of this simple rule must have meant for all of God’s heavenly sons. For it showed for the first time what God’s sentence would be for those who willingly chose to rebel against Him… returning to nonexistence. When Lucifer, your daddy, had so much as the thought of, “I will not serve,” he was immediately cast out of Heaven and into Hell. God is all-powerful and formed the universe with a thought [Jeremiah 32:17, 27; Genesis 1]. He is perfectly good and cannot sin nor lie [Psalm 32:19; Psalm 145:9; Titus 1:2]. Moreover, he can bring terrible destruction upon man with a word [Psalm 18:7-15; Lamentations 1:8, 9]. I tell you God cannot tolerate disobedience, and he has made this abundantly clear. God’s people suffered at the hands of the Edomites and God completely destroyed them [Obadiah]. God said that Egypt and their allies would suffer, and it happened [Ezekiel 30]. God said that Ammon would cease to exist as a nation and it came true [Ezekiel 25:1-7]. The Philistines suffered the wrath of God and ceased to exist [Ezekiel 15:15-17]. God promised, on more than one occasion, the destruction of Jerusalem as a result of Israel’s disobedience, and it always happened exactly as prophesied. I tell you we may not always clearly understand God’s laws, but out of humility, we should accept and follow them.  He is GOD! 

“But if it seems evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” [Joshua 24:15].

I remind you, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” [Matthew 6:24].

“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.” [Deut. 30:19]

By Lou Coleman

This message is a warning from God’s Word for everyone to repent of their sins and begin to live godly lives in the light of the scriptures and to begin to seek God with great intensity, honesty, sincerity and urgency.  We are living in the end times, facing war, world conflict and distress and are awaiting the second coming of Jesus in the Rapture. Jesus warned the final Church Age with these words, “And unto the angel of the church of the Laodicea’s write; These things saith the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth…..[Revelation 3:14-17].

Now you can deny the fact that Jesus is coming soon if you want too, but you can’t change the truth of it. Jesus is coming, and He is coming soon. And when He comes, it will be with “sudden destruction” [2Thessalonians]. He will come when people are saying “Peace and safety!”  I tell you this world is preparing itself for the fulfillment of God’s prophecies. The signs are everywhere…Only the spiritually blind will refuse to see what is as plain as day.  The Bible says, “If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles  7:14) I beg you, don’t take it lightly; your eternity is at stake. Jesus says, “Come now, and let us reason together: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool”. [Isaiah 1:18]. “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteousness man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” [Isaiah 55:7].

This is a call for you to believe the Bible. Jesus says that He is the only way of salvation, [John 14:6]. Jesus says that there is a Heaven to gain and a Hell to shun, [John 14:1-3; John 3:18]. Jesus coming again is a promise that is as sure as the sun coming up in the morning and setting in the evening. I don’t know where a message such as this finds you today. If you have never trusted Jesus as you Savior and you would like to be saved, I invite you to give your life to Him today and be saved. If you are saved, but the Lord has shown you that you are not ready for Him to return, there’s no better time than right now. If He has spoken to you on any level, don’t delay…. What will this “Day” mean for you, when the Lord comes “as a thief in the night”?  Will it be a day of destruction or a day of delight?  May God help you to understand—and to act.

“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near,” [Revelation 1:3, see also 22:7].

“This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, that you and your descendants may live.” [Deuteronomy 30:19]

END TIME SIGNS … (Daniel 12:4) (Zechariah 12:3) (Matthew 13:25-30) (Matthew 24:6-14,24) (Luke 21:25-26). (1 Thessalonians 5:3) (1Timothy 4:3-4) (2 Timothy 3:1-5) (2 Timothy 4:4) (2 Peter 2:1-3) (2 Peter 3:3-6)

By Lou Coleman

That’s your problem…. always thinking and wanting it to be about you. Well I got news for you Boo, Boo… It’s not about you! It’s about God! As Pastor Rick Warren said in his [Purpose Driven Life Book] “The purpose of your life is greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness.” …..It’s far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. It’s not about you! You were born by God’s purpose and for His purpose. You are not the center of the universe. God is! I tell you, you would do good to remember that. It will save you a lot of headache and heartache. It’s not about you and it’s not about me. It’s about God! Stop your whining and grow up because the more you wallow in self-pity, the more pitiful you become. Self-absorbed, and self-seeking gets you nowhere. Jesus is the vine, God is the vinedresser, and you are a branch. [John 15:5]. Your life is in God’s hands and hangs by a thread of sovereign grace. God owns every soul. He made us and we belong to him by virtue of his being our Creator. Always thinking life is about you, your needs, your wants, and your desires. Well it’s not! Get over it!

I tell you, most of us are so deep into this mentality [me, myself and I] that we find it hard to even conceive of a different perspective. We live most of life focused on self—“It’s all about me.” But in reality, life is not about you, nor me; it’s about God. This world is God’s world, not yours. History is God’s story, not yours. Even your own life is not your own; you belong to God.  When you get a hold of this truth and begin to live for the glory of God, you will be doing what you were created to do. And you will become who you were created to be. This is what the God of the Bible says: Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made. [Isaiah 43:6-7]. Whoever you are, wherever you’ve come from, I want you to know that your reason for existence on planet earth is the same. You have been created for the glory of God—to take all that you are and all that you have and use it to magnify Him.

You know the Apostle John tells us that John the Baptist “came as a witness to testify concerning the light, so that through him all men might believe.” John was the voice calling in the desert, “make straight the way for the Lord.” John was the one who came with the message, “repent for the kingdom of heaven is near.” John was the one who wore clothing made of camel’s hair and ate locusts and wild honey. His wasn’t a tasteful appearance or a tasteful diet. His life wasn’t about creature comforts; it was about calling lost and condemned creatures to repentance. Like his diet, his message often left a foul taste in the mouths of those who tasted it. People back in John’s day didn’t like hearing that just like they don’t today. We live in a world that would have us believe that we’re basically good people living basically good lives and God will accept us for who we are. It’s ironic that people would believe that about God in a world that would also have us believe that life is all about me. Getting what I want, when I want it, what makes me happy, because I deserve it? Truth…. Jesus says in [Matthew 16:24] “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” Don’t get any clearer than that! It’s not about you!

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

You really do need to kneel before God your Maker and appeal to Him for His mercy and forgiveness; because no one born of God makes a practice of sinning. [1 John 3:9]. What’s wrong with you? Claiming to be born again when your life contradicts it.  I tell you there is nothing more damaging, nothing more hurtful as when a person who has been forgiven of sin continues to sin.  Dragging sin where ever you go. Dragging it into the Church. Dragging it into your home. Wearing it around your neck on display. You are really slipping into a lukewarm, careless, presumptuous frame of mind about your own sinfulness. It worries me that many of you are living double lives. I want you to know that Jesus despised the double-mindedness of the religious rulers of His day. In [Matthew 23:27–28], He said, “Woe to you…….you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which looks beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”Repent before it’s too late!  Paul informs us that “these times of [past] ignorance God has overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent” [Acts 17:30]. I tell you to live a double life is a discredit to God. Repent before it’s too late! Christianity is not a sinning-repenting religion. It’s a victorious religion. There should be a place where you quit your sinning. Shame on you!

I want you to know that Sodom and Gomorrah were two of the most reprehensible cities known to man.  They were so filled with sin that God could no longer hold back His wrath.  He sent two angels to warn Lot and his family to leave before the destruction of the cities.  “The angels told Lot and his family, “Escape for your life.  Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley.  Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.” [Genesis 19:17].  Lot understood and obeyed.  He took his wife and daughters out of the city.  He tried to get his future son-in-laws to flee too, but they thought he was joking.  When they were out of the city, Lot’s wife could not resist the temptation to sin and look back.  Immediately “…she became a pillar of salt.” [Genesis 19:26] Don’t be a fool! Warning comes before destruction. Lot’s wife lost her life because she couldn’t let go of sin.  Scripture is clear: Any compromise with the world, whether in doctrine, morals, or relationships, has disastrous consequences. You better know that you know.  The godly reaction to sin is to recognize it from Scripture, to mourn over it, and to confess it without excuse to the God of mercy. Choose your position – whom will you follow?

“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit….” [Ephesians 5:8-18]

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

The patient was fading fast, and doctors expected him to flatline [die] before the night was over. In his fading state, he hears a voice…. Are you sure you want change your mind God asks?  What more can I do to prove my love to you?  You see, “Break up to make up, that’s all we do… First you love me then you hate me… That’s a game fool’s play… We have got to get together or we’re through…” [The Stylistics]. “Choose you this day Whom you will serve…” [Joshua 24:14-16]. “After all the things that we’ve been through… you should understand me like I understand you… As long as we’ve been together it should be so easy to do… get yourself together or we might as well say goodbye….. what good is a love affair if we can’t see eye to eye…” [Harold Melvin/The Blue Notes].

I tell you it’s hard to imagine a more direct approach than the one taken by Jesus here.  “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” [[Revelation 3:15]. Listen, God doesn’t want you to be lukewarm in your relationship with Him. He doesn’t want you to drift away from Him. He wants you to pursue a relationship with Him that grows stronger and deeper each day.  I want you to know that your love relationship with God is more important than any other single factor in your life. You were created by God to have a loving, intimate relationship with Him. God wants intimacy with you. His question, “Do you love me?” was not just for Peter but for all of us. There’s nothing that I’d rather do than spend every moment with you says God. You must choose your love and then maintain your choice: you either love Me or the world, but not both [John 2:15]. “To love and be loved in return. It’s the only thing that my heart desires.  Just appreciate the little things I do. I tell you we can build a world of love, a life of joy. Let’s make our goal each other’s happiness.” Seize the moment. Seize the time.  Seize the day.

I want you to know that in [1 Kings 17:8-16], a widow was facing her worst nightmare: she had a meal left for herself and her son. Death was mockingly starring at her. Then came a visitor sent by God. He made her an offer and she accepted it. Death was disappointed and put to shame. The woman lived better than she ever lived. This season, the Lord will visit you. Prepare for His visit. Get rid of every sin in your life. Obey Him completely. Be prayerful and sensitive to His call.

I also what you to know that the Lord does not compel us anymore than he compelled Peter. We are not forced to love God any more than we want to or any more than we are ready to. But the beauty is that each little bit of ourselves we do give over to the Lord is received by Him and transformed by His love into something greater. Peter learned the hard way what it means to love Jesus. He had vociferously declared his unfailing devotion to Him more than once. Yet when the chips were down, Peter’s self-confessed love failed and he openly denied three times that he even knew Jesus. His vaunted courage proved to be nothing but empty talk when facing a threatening situation. Don’t let that be said about you. In [John 14:15] Jesus put it plainly: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” In verse 21 He added, “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me” (cf. 15:10). As the Lord’s message was to the church at Sardis, so is it to each one of us: Check Your Spiritual Pulse. He, who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! [Deuteronomy 30:19].

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

You see the Devil is a Liar! He tries to fool us into believing something is a certain way even though it’s not. I want you to know that REAL life is NOT an Illusion!  Stop allowing the Devil to prevent you from living your life to its fullest. Open your eyes and discover the source of true fulfillment. You know in the movie “The Matrix,” Neo had been living in a fake world, but Morpheus wanted to bring him into the real world. Morpheus told Neo, “This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. Take the blue pill, and return to the fake world of comfort. Take the red pill and everything changes.” That’s what Jesus was telling the disciples and is telling you today: This is your last chance. If you want out, do it now, because Satan virtual reality is to imprison you; to hide the truth and to keep you in bondage and slavery without you knowing it.  The Bible says that this world is our enemy and it caters for the sinful desires of men.   We must overcome it! The Bible also says that the world and all visible things are temporary, but the truth is eternal truth. Stop being bamboozled by the Devil!

It is very dangerous to be ignorant of Satan’s strategies and methods for leading us astray. God offers wisdom and victorious solutions for all of Satan’s malicious strategies, and Paul gives that very warning when he counsels the Corinthians to take care “lest Satan take advantage….” [2Corinthians 2:11].  I want you to know that Satan has orchestrated a whole world system to perpetuate his primary lie that true life can be found apart from dependent relationship with God. Not so!  The devil is a liar! As Christians, we need to be aware of Satan’s schemes. The world we live in is a world where sin is the matrix. It controls all that we do or think; and it is pervasive in every way. The battle we face is to stay out of the matrix, which is not experiencing life at all. It is death. If you want out, take the red pill and change the game. Do it now! “Repent and believe this good news.” God is here…God is active…God is calling…God’s reign.  Choose to be a part of it.

The fact is without God, your life is just like the one Solomon described in [Ecclesiastes 1: 2]– Vanity, and emptiness. Pleasure, education, the job, and wealth– these can never give life meaning. They are just fillers, not substance. They are just the condiments but the real meat of life is Jesus [John 10:10]. Do not be deceived.  May we all be vigilant as the Bible commands in [1Peter 5:8] because our adversary the Devil roams about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Things are not always as they seem.

 “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live” [ Deuteronomy 30:19].

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

I tell you, I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes right now for nothing in the world. You see, Jesus reveals a critical problem. He says, “But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” And if you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place. [Revelation 2: 4-5]. What a solemn warning. I want you to know that God did not try to reform the descendents of Cain that had no time for Him. He rejected them and ultimately destroyed them in the flood. His complaint of His people was that they failed to give Him the honor and the respect He deserved. They treated Him with contempt and no longer held Him in awe. In their eyes He was no different than they were; and because of that, they were destroyed. God says, “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?” [Malachi 1:6]. He who hath ears let him hear what the Spirit saith.

“From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes, and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord. [Mal. 3:7].  Remember that moment when you first met Me. Remember the love you felt, the stirring in your heart, the adoration you had for Me. Remember how grateful you were for the forgiveness of sins. Remember how at that moment nothing else mattered, only Me. I want you to go back and remember that moment in time. And having that in your memory return to Me. Come back to your first love, to the place and time in your life to where I was everything to you. Return to Me and I will return to you says the Lord!

I want to encourage you in the words of Psalms and Hebrews, “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart. God is calling you back to the place where He is first and foremost in your life. He wants you to come back to the place where your soul is aflame with love for Him. He wants you to remember those days when just the mere mention of His name was just enough to bring tears to your eyes? He wants you to remember those days when “Amazing Grace” made you want to shout? That is where the Lord wants to bring you back to! That is where He wants you to return to. God’s plan is for you to rekindle that deeply burning first love, rebuild the altars of your worship and serve Him faithfully!

“Today I call heaven and earth to witness that I have set before you life and death. Now choose life so that you and your descendants may live…”

Lou Coleman

“What makes you so strong, black man? How is it that after 200 years of slavery in which skin color was the determining factor of your servitude and social status you could still produce a Frederick Douglass, a Booker T. Washington and a W.E.B. DuBois? What makes you so strong, black man? How is it that after losing 100 million souls in the “Middle Passage” of the slave trade, losing your name, your language and your cultural identity, you could still produce a Benjamin Banneker, a Louis Armstrong, a Duke Ellington, a Paul Robeson, a Jackie Robinson and a painter like Romare Bearden? What makes you so strong, black man? How is it that after two centuries of being someone else’s property and another century of Jim Crow laws, lynching and daily insults, you could still produce a Dr. Martin Luther King, a Malcolm X, a theologian like Howard Thurman and a labor leader like A. Philip Randolph. What makes you so strong, black man? How is it that even though for years they had a law making it illegal to teach blacks how to read, you could still produce classic American authors like a Langston Hughes, a Ralph Ellison, a Richard Wright and a James Baldwin? What makes you so strong, black man? How is it that after having your intelligence and moral worth devalued and degraded by some of the leading intellectuals of modern scholarship, you could still produce a noted pediatric surgeon like Ben Carson, a mathematician like Bob Moses and an inventor like Lewis Latimer, who made electric lighting practical by creating a longer-lasting filament for the bulb? What makes you so strong, black man? How is it that after being considered inferior by leaders of Western civilization, including the man who signed the Emancipation Proclamation, you could still produce a Joe Louis, a Muhammad Ali, a Hank Aaron, a Michael Jordan and an Olympic runner like Jesse Owens, who embarrassed Hitler by winning four gold medals competing against the “master Aryan race” in Germany. And Black Woman, What Makes You So Strong? How is it that after 300 years of being used –you could still produce a Harriet Tubman, a Sojourner Truth, a Fannie Lou Hamer, a Rosa Parks and early 20th-century millionaire Madame C.J. Walker? What makes you so strong, black woman? How is it that after being inculcated with the idea that your skin color is ugly, your hair nappy, your lips too big and your hips too wide, that the less you look like a blonde beauty, the worse off you are, you could still produce a Josephine Baker, an Angela Bassett, a Pam Grier and a Halle Berry? What makes you so strong, black woman? How is it that after being walked on and walked out on, after being popularly portrayed as a sexless Aunt Jemima and an oversexed temptress, you could still produce a Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison, a novelist like Zora Neale Hurston, a poet like Maya Angelou and an Oprah Winfrey? What makes you so strong, black woman? How is it that after men, even your own men, told you were good only for housekeeping and making babies, you could still produce an educator like Mary McLeod Bethune and a teacher like Elma Lewis, whom former Boston University Chancellor John Silber has said: “Mother Teresa doesn’t have anything on Elma Lewis, not one thing” What makes you so strong, black woman? How is it that after being cast as lazy welfare queens, after even sociologists identified you as the primary source of social pathology behind the “breakdown of the black family,” you could still produce a sculptor like Meta Warrick Fuller and a Dr. Jane Cooke Wright, whose pioneering cancer research led to treating cancer patients with chemotherapy and who later became the first black woman to be named associate dean of a medical school in America? What is your source of this incredible human strength and resilience? Samson was a fool to tell Delilah his secret, and I’d be a fool to try and name it in this column. Suffice it to say that the strength lies within all of us – black, white, yellow, red and brown people. And when its power is harnessed, victims are transformed into victors. Thank you, black people, for the many marvelous things you have contributed to this wonderful world of ours. And for reminding us of the paradoxical power of the powerless.” [Reverend Jeremiah Wright].

As we celebrate Black History Month recognition is given to the mighty men and women of valour who paved the way for all of us. We recognize them for their heroic courage, dedication, commitment, and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, intimidation, and even death… all for the equity for people of color. As we take time to celebrate this notable occasion, we remember how God has delivered His people. We remember the way God led His people through trials. We remember the victories God has given, and we remember the blessings God has bestowed. Why do we remember? We remember so that we can keep in mind the great price paid for our freedom and for our salvation. For it is that memory that connects us and brings our histories and lives together in ways that are life renewing and life giving. So remember the story by recalling the story. Remember the story by making the story your story. Remember the story by doing the story, and remember the story by being the story.

Black History Month… a time of reflection, rejoicing, and recommitting. Black History Month, a time to think about what it means to be an African American. Black History Month, the story of God’s action in the United States. Black History Month, the story of good beating evil, of liberation, of freedom. Black History Month! Whenever I reflect on the legacy of Black History, my mind also reflects on the passage in [Hebrews 12:1-3]. In this passage, God instructs us to listen to the stories of believers who have gone before us—to learn from the stories of the great cloud of witnesses. Here’s how the author of Hebrews says it in [12:1-3]: When life gets hard, and we get weary, and we’re tempted to lose heart, the Bible says, “Remember the great heroes of the faith who faced horrible suffering and great temptation to sin, yet they persevered spiritually because they looked to Jesus.